Browncoat is a term with two meanings. One is a nickname for the Independence fighters in the television series Firefly

Firefly (TV series)

Firefly is an American space western television series created by writer and director Joss Whedon, under his Mutant Enemy Productions label. Whedon served as executive producer, along with Tim Minear....

. The other refers to fans of the series.

Fictional meaning

In the series, Browncoats were named after the simple brown duster

Duster (clothing)

A duster is a light, loose-fitting long coat.The original dusters were full-length, light-colored canvas or linen coats worn by horsemen to protect their clothing from trail dust. These dusters were typically slit up the back to hip level for ease of wear on horseback and were the recommended...

s the soldiers of the Independence faction in the show had worn as uniforms. Conversely, the Alliance's soldiers were called "Purplebellies," because of the purple-tinted body armor they wore on their chests.

Fans

The original fans first organized to try to save the series from being canceled by Fox Broadcasting Network. Their efforts included raising money for an ad in Variety magazine

Variety (magazine)

Variety is an American weekly entertainment-trade magazine founded in New York City, New York, in 1905 by Sime Silverman. With the rise of the importance of the motion-picture industry, Daily Variety, a daily edition based in Los Angeles, California, was founded by Silverman in 1933. In 1998, the...

 and a postcard writing campaign to UPN

UPN

United Paramount Network was a television network that was broadcast in over 200 markets in the United States from 1995 to 2006. UPN was originally owned by Viacom/Paramount and Chris-Craft Industries, the former of which, through the Paramount Television Group, produced most of the network's...

.

These fans are also sometimes known as "flans" (IPA /flænz/). This originated from a slip of the tongue by actor Nathan Fillion

Nathan Fillion

Nathan Fillion is a Canadian actor, currently starring as Richard Castle on the ABC series Castle. He is also known for his portrayal of the lead role of Captain Malcolm Reynolds in the television series Firefly and its feature film continuation, Serenity.He has acted in traditionally distributed...

 during an interview, when talking about Firefly fans. (Wikiquote transcription)

Notable fans include science fiction writer Orson Scott Card

Orson Scott Card

Orson Scott Card is an American author, critic, public speaker, essayist, columnist, and political activist. He writes in several genres, but is primarily known for his science fiction. His novel Ender's Game and its sequel Speaker for the Dead both won Hugo and Nebula Awards, making Card the...

,
writer Tracy Hickman

Tracy Hickman

Tracy Raye Hickman is a best-selling fantasy author, best known for his work on Dragonlance as a game designer and co-author with Margaret Weis, while he worked for TSR...

webcomic author and former NASA roboticist Randall Munroe

Randall Munroe

Randall Patrick Munroe is an American webcomic author and former NASA roboticist as well as a programmer, best known as the creator of the webcomic xkcd...

 and NASA astronaut Steven Swanson

Steven Swanson

Steven Ray Swanson is an American engineer and a NASA astronaut. Swanson is married and has 3 children. Steven has received numerous awards and honors. These include the NASA Exceptional Achievement Medal and the JSC Certificate of Accommodation and many others...

.

Charity

A number of fan groups and charitable organizations were created by browncoats across the globe. Notable charitable groups include Austin Browncoats, California Browncoats and Southeastern Browncoats.

Sources

• Whedon, Joss. Firefly Official Companion, Volume One; Titan Books, 2006 ISBN 1-84576-314-9
• Done the Impossible: The Fans' Tale of Firefly & Serenity (2006), directed by Tony Hadlock, Jason Heppler, Jeremy Neish, Jared Nelson, and Brian Wiser, DVD, UPC 822732036221